Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Mount Victoria

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,614 in Mount Victoria, rent and utilities included – about $16,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
124

Cost of Living Index in Mount Victoria
Learn more

Mount Victoria Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Mount Victoria

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Mount Victoria

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Playa del Carmen and in Mount Victoria actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,614 in Mount Victoria.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Mount Victoria $2,614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,779 in Mount Victoria.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Mount Victoria $3,779

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,944 in Mount Victoria.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Mount Victoria $4,944

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 54% less than in Mount Victoria, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Mount Victoria is 93% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$198

$21.09 A$30.11

-49.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$813

$89.4 A$128

-51.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$10.57 A$15.09

11.54%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.3

$4.16 A$5.95

-8.89%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.09

$3.10 A$4.43

-58.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.48

$2.63 A$3.75

-68.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.4

$8.48 A$12.11

-62.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.6

$9.56 A$13.66

-48.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.16

$1.53 A$2.19

-7.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.77

$3.24 A$4.63

-32.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.35

$2.57 A$3.68

-42.80%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.37

$5.41 A$7.72

-53.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$135

$13.29 A$18.98

-45.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$9.84 A$14.05

-19.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$15.54 A$22.19

-17.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.8

$3.92 A$5.60

-26.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.69

$3.25 A$4.64

-57.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.26

$3.59 A$5.13

-30.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.70

$5.11 A$7.30

-60.27%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.61

$3.04 A$4.34

-33.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.35

$2.72 A$3.88

-30.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.25

$2.49 A$3.56

-54.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.01

$1.33 A$1.90

-6.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.3

$44.84 A$64.0

-90.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$182

$14.08 A$20.11

-30.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.45

$4.66 A$6.65

-65.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.0

$5.46 A$7.80

-49.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.56

$2.68 A$3.82

-80.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$509

$83.2 A$119

-67.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.4

$3.97 A$5.66

19.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.3

$1.63 A$2.33

99.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$43.69 A$62.4

-87.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.38

$1.33 A$1.89

15.04%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$21.2K MX$393.9K

$28.3K A$40.3K

-24.92%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$23.3K MX$432.0K

$26.1K A$37.2K

-10.80%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$83.5 MX$1,550

$184 A$263

-54.62%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$23.19 MX$431

$26.92 A$38.44

-13.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$513

$55.7 A$79.6

-50.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,048

$56.7 A$81.0

-0.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$524

$17.97 A$25.67

56.87%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$92.9

$15.66 A$22.37

-68.07%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$207 MX$3,846

$2,435 A$3,478

-91.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.1K

$20.5K A$29.3K

-74.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$807

$76.5 A$109

-43.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$790

$57.1 A$81.6

-25.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,351

$106 A$151

-31.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,641

$132 A$188

-32.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$1,401 A$2,000

-28.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,102

$1,254 A$1,791

-69.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.1K

$2,258 A$3,225

-25.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$1,841 A$2,630

-41.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.6K

$5,903 A$8,430

-33.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.0K

$4,970 A$7,097

23.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$4,188 A$5,981

-80.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.95

92.44%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Mount Victoria: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Mount Victoria

$1.3K 48% 228% $872

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Mount Victoria

$397 15.2% 54.3% $140

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Mount Victoria

$335 12.8% 67.2% $135

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Mount Victoria

$267 10.2% 98.6% $132

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Mount Victoria

$167 6.4% 50.2% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Mount Victoria

$88 3.4% 32.5% $22

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Mount Victoria

$106 4.1% 110% $56

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $1,401 in Mount Victoria. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mount Victoria pays about 5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $89 in Mount Victoria for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $397 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇦🇺 Mount Victoria

🕒 Local time

07:38 7:38 AM

23:38 11:38 PM

16 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

989

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 AUD = 0.7 USD

1 AUD = 0.625 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.7 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.625 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Mount Victoria 14,230 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Mount Victoria

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Playa del Carmen vs Mount Victoria: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 54% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 80% lower in Playa del Carmen. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,401 in Mount Victoria. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $2,614 in Mount Victoria – Playa del Carmen is about 54% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 67% less than in Mount Victoria. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,614 in Mount Victoria, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Mount Victoria. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Mount Victoria. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.